I got half way and had to throw in the towel. I hate to do that with a Netgalley book but I just couldn't go on. I got to 50%. the first 35 % is basically drilling into you that they are alone on this boat. Then when the twist is revealed kindof, just way too ridiculous for me.

I am glad that I am in the minority with this review and wish the author great success with this but it was just not for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I am still in shock!
This book was so so good. So tense and so twisty that was impossible to put it down. I didn’t expect that at all, and that ending!. You keep thinking about this story all the time, and that shows how a great book is.
I really loved it and highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Out now and do yourself a favor, go read this book!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. This was one of my favorites of the year. It was so unique kept me guessing. I thought I had the ending figured out and I was so surprised. First they wake up to only find 4 people on the ship but then it turns into so much more! One sitting read!

Minor possible spoilers ahead, read at your own risk. Nothing’s in detail or explicit, but some people are sensitive…..

3.5 stars. Goodreads really needs to get a half-star system.

I really struggled with what to rate this book.

I don’t want to say too much more about the book’s plot other than what’s in the official description, because this is a book that’s going into blind. But it starts out with Chaz waking up on an empty luxury ocean liner - and because this part comes early on, I feel comfortable telling you - she meets a couple of other “left behinds” who all quickly struggle to figure out what the heck is going on.

I absolutely LOVED the storyline, the action, everything. There were twists throughout, some I guessed; some I didn’t; some I thought were coming and didn’t; some parts I was holding my breath reading to see what was coming next! Like I said, by the time it wrapped up, I was satisfied.

And then, the ending.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: AUTHORS, DO NOT THROW A RANDOM LAST LINE/PARAGRAPH CLIFFHANGER IN THERE FOR THE SAKE OF IT. IT’S NOT CUTE.

So yeah, I was upset at that point. Why ruin what was a great 5-star book at that point? It didn’t alert sense to me.

So overall, loved the book, expect for the very last pages. I’d recommend reading everything but those, you’ll still get a full story, but without the ruined ending.

I would encourage anyone who is interested in reading this book to NOT read anything about this book before picking it up, especially not the back cover synopsis. I think the back cover ruins this entire book because it sets the reader up for disappointment, but I also think without reading the back cover, the book is interesting, slightly terrifying, and one I would have picked up just because of the cover.

Are you a fan of cruise ships? Do you like spending a week on a boat with hundreds of others? In The Last One, Will Dean takes a character - Caz - and makes her wake up alone on a ship. The ship is sailing itself and she can't find any other passengers. What has happened?

This story took me a while to get into. I thought Caz was pretty annoying and whiny along with Smith. Dean does a pivot and the story gets a little more interesting. Then it feels forced. After the final reveal there's an a-ha moment. And then you know what's coming. I was a little disappointed that it ended like that. Almost a cliche ending .
If you're able to suspend belief and reality, thriller fans may enjoy this one.

Caz wakes up to find herself alone on a cruise ship in a state of confusion. After wandering around, she realizes there are three other passengers who also have no idea what is going on. They are cut off from all communication and quickly realize they need to work together to figure out a way off the ship. They are forced to scavenge for food and water and conquer challenges. Can they trust each other and make it out alive?

I wasn't expecting the competition/social experiment/reality tv storyline, but it sucked me in! It was fun and mysterious and unlike anything else I've read. Throughout the pages, I was feeling like it would be a 4 star read, but the ending annoyed me so I'm rounding down to 3 stars.

Thank you to Will Dean, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I saw a YouTube review about this book and was lucky enough to get an ARC. The review gave nothing away and it’s better going into this blind…. I’ve never been on a cruise and stuff like this just cements crazy made up reasons why. Ughhh this book drive me crazy but had to keep reading.

Reading Between the Wines book review #100/115 for 2023:
Rating: 4 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book: The Last One
Author: Will Dean
Available now!!! Released Aug 8, 2023!

Sipping thoughts: I want to first say I love Will Dean. I found him when I first read The Last Thing to Burn (4 stars) and then I followed that up, just a year later, with First Born (5 stars). I went in with high hopes and expectations. Dean met my expectations with suspense and the way he writes. The short chapters, each ending on a cliffhanger, had me not wanting to put the book down. I enjoyed every minute of the thrills and suspense right up to the end. I thought it was going to be another 5-star book but I just did not like how the mystery turned out. I was a little disappointed in the ending, but it did not deter me from enjoying the rest of the book.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @AtriaBooks for an advanced copy of @TheLastOne.

#TheLastOne #WillDean #AtriaBooks #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

Will Dean is a very popular author....or at least in my circle of reading friends.....they all consider him a must read. THE LAST ONE is definitely a unique story line, or it is to me. I personally would be freaked out to find myself in Caz's situation, no one on board except me and no idea how or why. Will Dean rolls out the story a little slowly for my taste but picks up "steam" as the plot progresses. The ending is definitely a game changer. Read on and join the Dean fan club.

I went into this thinking locked room on a cruise ship yes please sign me up, coming out of it I think I'm staying home for the rest of my life.

The premise of this book is bloody brilliant, a luxury cruise filled with shiny happy people, until it isn't until there are only six people on that ship and they're about to have a hell of a time figuring it all out.

With breathtaking intricacies that have you questioning everyone and everything onboard the Atlantica this book will have you in a state of shock, awe, and even terror at specific moments.

And speaking of terror, can we just talk about all of those little clauses in travel documents? After reading this book I will, and then I'll read them again just to be sure.

Thinking about the vastness of the ocean, how small one cruise ship, one group, one person can feel, it's the perfect setting for a thriller of this type, the thought of if no one sees it did it happen, it takes your mind in so many directions, what would I do, who would I sacrifice, what if I found out everything I thought I knew was a lie... I'm still reeling from that ending.

Can we just talk about that last line for a moment, to say my jaw dropped would be an understatement, to say I was internally screaming no would be an understatement, to say I immediately stated googling if there was going to be a series would be accurate because as many ups and downs as this book had I want more, I'm hooked, and while Will Dean is now an auto-read author for me I have so many questions.

If anyone wants to sit and chat about this one let me know because my brain is still swimming... pun fully intended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an advance copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This new release from Will Dean was quite entertaining!

The plot was pretty farfetched, and that did impact my enjoyment a bit. However, it's still a quick, compelling read, perfect to binge in an afternoon (as long as you don't mind suspending disbelief).

I AM SHOOKETH. I swear on every drop of water in the Atlantic Ocean, this was the most entertaining book I’ve read in a very long time. The action, the pacing, the twists, TOP NOTCH ENTERTAINMENT. 🚢🌊
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Caz boards a luxury ocean liner with her boyfriend and the next morning when she wakes up, everyone is gone. *poof*
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She starts exploring and things just go sideways and never really get right again. 🫣 It was such a wild ride. It took one turn that I NEVER SAW, and then ANOTHER, and then one I kind of expected, and then ANOTHER, and then the END 🤯🤯🤯
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It also has short chapters that end with little mini cliffhangers and if that’s not the perfect formula for a thriller I don’t know what is. 💯
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Go get this book right now! It’s FIVE ENTHUSIASTIC STARS from me! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced e-copy!

The Last One, is a super fast-paced read, containing very short chapters with cliffhangers at the end of each one. I couldn’t stop flipping the pages to see how this book would end! You will want to pick a day to do nothing but read this book!!! I can't wait to read more of Will Dean's books. I highly recommend this book. You will be guessing all the way to the end!


Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

This book is my first by this authors and it sucked me in immediately. I went into this one completely blind, and I am glad I did. Each time I had to put it down to handle my adult responsibilities, all I could think about is picking this back up to continue reading. The short chapters allowed me to read a couple here and there whenever I had a few minutes. I enjoyed how different each of the main characters were. There were so many twists and there were a few times I outwardly gasped. I had to know what was going to happen next and what the next survival tactic was going to be. I didn’t guess the ending nor the secondary ending so it will be interesting to see if there is a second book. I definitely will be reading more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, this is a voluntary honest review.

I was invested in this story from the first chapter and found it one of the most intense thrillers I have ever read. Much of the intensity comes from the surprises, mostly unpleasant, that are revealed in the short, staccato chapters, punctuated by little cliffhangers at the end of each one. The tension ramps up inexorably to an astounding conclusion, and a final, gut-wrenching twist!
The characters are richly drawn, especially Caz, the protagonist who narrates the whole tale from her first-person POV. As a middle-aged café owner, caring daughter, protective sister of Gemma, and lover of Pete, Caz has plenty of past history and baggage to grapple with as she faces the challenges of this voyage. The vignettes about her past, especially regarding her father, make her character particularly sympathetic, and invite the reader to understand what informs her decisions in the present.
This is a complex tale, an ominously tense thriller. It tackles issues of trust, loyalty, family dynamics, betrayal, gas-lighting, and psychological abuse, in a very contemporary setting. I’m very much looking forward to the next book he writes

Thank you to NetGalley, Will Dean and Atria Books for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I love locked in type thrillers so this was right up my alley. I loved all the twists and the shocking moment. Definitely a quick and binge worthy read.

This book was exactly what it promised to be...

Super fast, absorbing reading experience. When I wasn't reading it, I wanted to be. I haven't felt this driven to finish a book in forever.

It's really difficult to get into the plot without giving spoilers, but I'll say this went in a surprising, and unexpectedly deeper, direction than I expected. It presented some thought-provoking moral dilemmas that made me examine my own behavior.

Short chapters, and short, straightforward sentence structure made it a really low effort, high pay off read. The speed at which I'm able to read a book adds dimension to the experience. In this case, the speediness increased my sense of tension and urgency.

My only complaint is the length. It felt a little too long in places. Primarily, the sections detailing Caz's backstory felt bloated and repetitive and really slowed things down. I understand that we needed her to have a compelling history so that her choices made sense, but I think that could have been accomplished in fewer anecdotes.

That aside, this was really fun. Would recommend to anyone who likes fast paced books, is looking for a thriller with a little more social commentary than what you'd typically expect, and/or those who like to (or are okay with) suspending disbelief.

“𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴…” THE LAST ONE (pub 08.08)⁣
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I don’t read many thrillers, but when my trusted book friend @stephaniehowell raves about a book I tend to listen.⁣
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This novel takes off at an unrelenting and terrifying pace as soon as the ship leaves the dock. The thought of being stranded in large, wide open spaces of water is a very specific fear of mine that makes me anxious. So this book kept me firmly planted on the edge of my seat. ⁣
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There were elements that were almost too bananas but I was too enthralled to care. It kept me guessing and the twists were outrageous in the best way. ⁣
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READ: In print thanks to @atriabooks and audio thanks to @simon.audio I loved having both formats b/c I couldn’t put it down.

The last page made me gasp.

But I’m conflicted.

While the premise and twists were entertaining, I have so many qualms about this story. It certainly was fast-paced and a page-turner with Lost vibes. Yet, it felt rushed and like details were missing. I wasn’t a fan of the characterizations and didn’t really care about what was going (outside of figuring out the twists that everyone raves about).

It’s a fun poolside read for sure but not my favorite.